The General (Silent) (DVD)

...watch able that once seen the images will stay with you for a very long time. I refer to film in this review, but the product is the DVD of the film.

I cannot recall when I first saw this film. I have always liked the silent films, particularly slapstick comedy. Here you will find no smart one liners, or withering put downs. Here the humour is strictly visual. And you should remember that these films were made before most special effects. ...
...novelty. Sound was still in the future as was colour, and as for CGI, well computers had not even been invented yet. Films were black and white and any accompaniment was by a piano player in the theatre. Technically we have come a long way since then.

This film, The General, is arguably the best film made by Buster Keaton.

The story is about a historical raid by union soldiers that took place in 1862. The film is based ... more

I am known for being a reader and for liking railways. There are times when I far prefer to read a good story rather than watch some bodies ideas on film. But there are some films that are just so watch able that once seen the images will stay with you for a very long time. I refer to film in this review, but the product is the DVD of the film.

I cannot recall when I first saw this film. I have always liked the silent films, particularly slapstick comedy. Here you will find no smart one liners, or withering put downs. Here the humour is strictly visual. And you should remember that these films were made before most special effects. Here the Star normally performed his own stunts. If a car or train was destroyed,
it was destroyed.

In 1926 films were still something of a novelty. Sound was still in the future as was colour, and as for CGI, well computers had not even been invented yet. Films were black and white and any accompaniment was by a piano player in the theatre. Technically we have come a long way since then.

This film, The General, is arguably the best film made by Buster Keaton.

The story is about a historical raid by union soldiers that took place in 1862. The film is based on these events but not completely.

Buster Keaton plays Jonnie Gray, an engineer with the railway who has two loves in his life. His engine and Annabelle Lee (Marion Mack). When Union soldiers steal his train with Annabelle still aboard, then Jonnie has to rescue the loves of his life. I will not give away the full plot. You may already be familiar with it or with the Disney version.

There are a whole wealth of visual gags in it. Far too many to state without totally ruining the plot. Enough to say that Keaton did all his own stunts, as did most of the actors of this time.

There were some clever camera tricks employed in various films of the time. But as a silent film, visual had to play a greater part than dialogue. Caption cards were used but these tended to break up the action.

Great attention to historical detail was made throughout the film. Keaton was injured during the making of this film but fortunately not seriously.He did break his neck in another film and only found out about it years later.

Keaton's whole life as a vaudeville performer and film person were a preparation for this, possibly his finest film.

The cast is as follows.
Marion Mack...Annabelle Lee
Charles Henry Smith...Mr. Lee (Annabelle's father)
Richard Allen...Annabelle's brother
Glen Cavender...Union Capt. Anderson (chief spy)
Jim Farley...Gen. Thatcher (US Army)
Frederick Vroom...Confederate general
Joe Keaton...Union general
Mike Donlin...Union general
Tom Nawn...Union general
Buster Keaton...Johnnie Gray
Henry Baird...Soldier
Joe Bricher...Soldier
Jimmy Bryant...Raider
Sergeant Bukowski...Officer
Capt. C.C. Cruson...Officer
Jack Dempster...Raider
Keith Fennell...Soldier
Budd Fine...Raider
Eddie Foster...Union railroad fireman
Ronald Gilstrap...Union soldier
Frank Hagney...Recruiter
Ray Hanford...Raider
Jackie Hanlon...Boy who follows Johnny
Al Hanson...Raider
Anthony Harvey...Raider
Edward Hearn...Union officer
Hilliard Karr...Soldier
Elgin Lessley...Union general who gives command to cross bridge
Louis Lewyn...Soldier
Jackie Lowe...Boy who follows Johnny
Billy Lynn...Soldier
Ross McCutcheon...Raider
Tom Moran...Raider
Charles Phillips...Raider
Red Rial...Raider
Harold Terry...Union soldier
Ray Thomas...Raider
Red Thompson...Raider
James Walsh...Soldier
John Wilson...Union soldier
Jean Woodward...Bit part

Most of these names will be without meaning now to any modern audience. Some possibly will not even recall Buster Keaton! As to why he may not be as well known as he should be, all I can say is that he did not fare very well under MGM studio. Previously he had complete control as artist and director. Under the studio he had to do what they wanted and they had no proper idea of his talents and apparently the boss of the studio did not even like him. When they did have sound apparatus that could have been used to make a film like The General, they did not. Consequently his latter years from 1928 were somewhat eclipsed until his rediscovery by a later generations.

Now the film itself is more sepia than black on one of my monitors. On the other is clearly a black and white film and is rather grainy in some places and does show some signs of damage. There are places where the picture flashes with white streaks on the screen where damage has occurred but that does not distract from the viewing pleasure. We have been spoiled by newer methods of recording films and the perfect sounds that accompany them.

The accompaniment to this film is ragtime piano. I think I did identify some Scott Joplin tunes among the playing but I am not absolutely sure of that.

What we have lost as the viewing public is the sense of wonder that films portrayed. And I believe that some of the performers have also lost that sense of fun and adventure that there used to be in the early films. Now if the Christmas Blockbuster does not take millions of dollars in the first week and is not full of CGI effects, then it is doomed as a failure.

With these early films, especially the slapstick comedy, there was a sense of exuberance that was quite noticeable. Most actors had to do their own stunts and they could be quite dangerous. There was a sort of freshness about a lot of these early films before the big studio system. There was a lot of location work as the large back lots had not yet come into existence. There was no need for these yet as there were no sound stages as sound was still some time away. So location work without having to worry about extraneous sounds could carry on.

Shortly after Keaton was persuaded to sign on with MGM studio. They did not understand what a genius he was and took away his artistic and directorial control. As a result the films that were made under this system tended to be stinkers. Within 10 years Keaton was virtually unknown, bankrupt and fighting alcohol addiction.

For additional details, the story of the raid can be found
at:-http://ngeorgia.com/history/raiders.html

And the story of "The General" can be found at:-
http://ngeorgia.com/people/thegeneral.html

Upon its release, the film was neither a financial or critical sucess. People just did not understand it as it portreyed events only 65 years in the past in in a comedy fashion. Now though the film is thought to be a work of genius.

There are a variety of discs on the market, this is a no frills edition. I hope to review one with the extras later.
This version is a 0 or region free disc that should play on any region DVD player. Run time is supposed to be 101 mins.

I paid £2.93 plus p+p through Amazon marketplace for this edition. Prices can vary greatly so shop around for the version and price you want to pay.

 

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